Ship model USS BONHOMME RICHARD of 1779

The American
USS BONHOMME RICHARD under the command of
Paul Jones became famous when she took the English frigate HMS
Serapis as a prize after a 4-hours-fight in the North Sea in 1779.
Paul Jones was one of first commanders in the emerging US Navy. In 1777 he
had got the mission to carry the war against England to Europe. In
France he managed to purchase the East Indiaman Duc de Duras, converted
her to a frigate and renamed her BONHOMME RICHARD. On 23 September 1779
the ship and her small squadron met an English convoy guarded by the the
English frigate HMS Serapis. A battle took place near Flamborough Head
on the eastern coast of England. Although the American ship got so
heavily damaged that she sank the next day, Paul Jones managed to take
the Serapis as a prize.
By this Paul Jones became famous in Europe and America.

It is a beautiful piece of work, very finely
detailed. The planks are made of pear and ebony, the deck is maple and
the carvings are made of boxwood. The model's sails are set as running
downwind on port tack.

There are two stands the model could be put in. One is shown in the
photos above, the ship model being stabilized by two small wedges in the
middle of the hull. The other one is a somewhat bigger massive black
board, putting the model some cm above the ground. When
comparing the two
stands I personally prefer the two small wedges.